AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Why didn’t you let her take me?
I huff and tuck the photo back into the sun visor.
My muscles tense as I push the ignition. The Stallion called me from a burner line a while ago when I took a break at a diner, and he didn’t sound happy. Things weren’t supposed to get this far. Vengeance was the end of the line for me. I hoped it would be a shootout between me and the Lucrazi rat… Some divine intervention that would end in my death, and Marissa’s killer’s.
But I guess that wasn’t in the cards.
The car kicks up dirt as I speed out of the front pathway, on my way to Donny’s office two hours away in Manhattan.
On the road, my mind wanders back to the house in Indiana. Scoping out the surrounding houses and honing in on the kill is the most joy I can fathom since Marissa’s death. All in her name. But now that the hunt is over… there’s a hollow hole inside me.
A part of me hopes Donny Valentino will execute me for crossing Lenny – The Bone – Scatilli. No chance he kept his mouth shut about it, and I don’t really give a shit.
The ride goes on, leaving me to daydream about a fantasy Marissa and I shared back when we were kids. I already had seven kills under my belt when I met her, and couldn’t wait to escape and start again somewhere far away. It’s not like I felt guilty about any of it. I always thought of myself as a ruthless type of judicator. I’d research my kills hard before accepting a job. Rigiano, Valentino, Lucrazi, Barone, Scatilli… didn’t matter. I was there to balance the scale if the target’s history called for it.
Then I met her. She changed my outlook on everything.
I wanted to be there, not always on the run. I’m handy enough to get other work. She was worth it all.
The only woman who looked out for me… Who wanted me out of the mobster world I became a key part of.
“Fuck!”
I slam the steering wheel.
Thirty minutes later, my nerves calm, and Alessia seeps into my head again. I wonder how she’s acclimating with the other women. A part of me can’t believe what I’ve turned into. Like some Mormon kidnapper hoarding women that cook and clean. I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way. But I won’t be the one who takes down the mafia. I may not always see eye-to-eye with them, but there’s something holy about the order they keep in the darkness.
In some sense, it’s my home, even if I intend to run away from it.
I haven’t slept in sixty-eight hours now, but I’m used to that. Staking out a kill usually takes longer, to be honest. Indiana turned out to be so rural that it took less than a week to get all the pieces in place. Seeing Alessia talking to herself on the way to the market made me wonder if that’s how Marissa would’ve turned out had we stayed in the states. Does everyone get that paranoid when the mob turns on them?
Am I the only one who isn’t scared?
The condensed skyscrapers surrounding me are like tall prison bars enclosing me in. Cabs cut me off every chance they get. I prefer the cold mountains, not the chaos of the city. Eventually, I find the garage where a round-bellied man in a turtle neck and gold-plated loafers beckons me into the parking lot.
I roll down my window to show my face.
“Third floor today, Hook. He’s expecting you.”
“Uh huh,” I say, rolling past him. Surveying the lot is second nature. My nerves are calm, heart rate almost lower than when I sleep. Even if they ambush me, I’m not sure I would fight it. Deep down I know though, my cousin, Ellie, would never let it happen.
I step out of the car and slam the door as loud as possible to signal I’m here to anyone who might be waiting. Nothing. No noise but the echo of my door.
Taking the mesh stairs a few floors up shows a barren lot except for a handful of cars. I follow the arrows to the office building, and punch a steel door four times, like usual.
Bzzz.
I’m buzzed in to find a secretary with a tight black bun who doesn’t so much as glance at me. Two men the size of mountains pretend to be doing busy work at a desk. Or maybe they’re bookies? Who knows. I figured that world was dead since DraftKings and whatever other sites allowed for legal gambling.
I pity them, because my job is future-proof, unless the robots one day take over the world. Then it wouldn’t matter anyway.
“He will see you now.” The secretary flicks her eyes my way, then points to the back door.
I strut down the path. My leather jacket and jeans don’t mesh with the suits around me. Maybe I should’ve dressed up out of respect. Next time.
I open the door to a welcome sight.
“Leandro.” Ellie gets off Donny’s lap to embrace me in a hug. She kept her hair dark since she’s been in hiding, and her green eyes pierce into mine. “I was worried about you. Actually, I’m always worried about you.”
